A Most Cacophonous Lure
A Most Cacophonous Lure is an optional mission in Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary. Background :"Sir Hammerlock has discovered a new and terrifying Pandoran monster that will almost certainly require four Vault Hunters cooperating to take it down, and one of those Vault Hunters is you! Below the thunders of the upper deep, the creature hath lain, in its undisturbed enormity. Yawn. Luckily, Sir Hammerlock knows just how to get its attention" Walkthrough Objectives *Reach monster's lair *Place Eridium 0/4 *Drop it! *Defeat Haderax the Invincible Strategy After activating the sonic agitation device in the setup room of Writhing deep, Haderax will come out of one of three geysers located around the arena and stand straight up with its weak spot on the back of its head, hidden from ground level. Haderax will spit an acid ball that leaves a pool and causes damage over time before dissipating. After this, Haderax will burrow back into one of the other two geysers while sending spikes that home slightly towards a character and deals massive damage. The natural structures around the map make it easy to hide from these attacks. After the attack is finished, Haderax will rise up from the third geyser and repeat the attack pattern. Every time Haderax comes out of or goes into the ground, the other geysers will launch characters into the air if they were standing on it. With this, Haderax's next pop up location can be predicted. The geysers form a triangle around the arena. When planning to launch in the air, characters should stand between the geysers on the opposite side of the geyser Haderax will rise from to get a greater chance of reaching the correct geyser before it no longer launches them. One could launch up while Haderax is still rising up, but this will not guarantee it will come out of the right geyser later. This also leaves the character vulnerable to the barrage of spikes with the lack of cover. With at least three characters, each one could be designated to a single geyser and survive until they need to get higher up. The other two should watch out for Haderax rising and burrowing since this will still damage them. After Haderax has taken enough damage, it will start tunneling through the entire arena, doing damage to any characters in its way and throwing spikes in different directions. This trigger is entirely health-based but he is able to do it an unlimited amount of times if given the chance. Every time it enters a tunnel, it will rapidly regenerate health. Haderax can regain about 50% of its maximum health in total during the tunneling. The first time it does this is when its health drops to around 2/3. The regeneration is halted if Haderax is singed by damage or if he gets slagged, though igniting him is more practical. While elemental status effects would only last a second one just needs to inflict it before he enters a tunnel. A number of Necrotizing Spores will spawn when Haderax starts tunneling. They can shoot balls and serve as sources of Second Winds. They also obstruct the player's view. It's often a good idea for multiple players to take up vantage points, and when one gets swarmed the other can still focus on igniting Haderax. Alternatively, the other can use a rocket launcher like the Nukem to eliminate them en masse. Haderax has two critical hit spots, one on the back of its head, and another on the roof of its mouth (they are two sides of the critical part of its head). To hit the spot on the back of its head, characters have to be launched by a geyser or have the Toothpick and Retainer combo to reach a high ledge. A character may be able to land a few shots on the critical spot inside its mouth as it spews corrosive balls. If Haderax takes enough damage within a certain amount of time, it will be staggered and lay with its mouth open on the natural structures, exposing the second critical spot for a short time. As Haderax's health diminishes, usually one or two bursts from the Toothpick at the critical spot on the back of its head will be enough to stagger it. Hitting the critical spot inside Haderax's mouth will cause massive damage to it. Haderax can be staggered multiple times until it is killed, but staggering it once may be enough for the characters to end the fight if they capitalize well on this chance. It is fairly straightforward to stay alive and deal damage to Haderax, provided the characters stay under the cover of the rock structures. The Sand Worms drop ammo upon death, so ammunition is usually not a concern. An important factor in this fight is inflicting burning on Haderax before it enters a tunnel during its tunneling phase, so it cannot regenerate. By using a geyser, or by having Toothpick and Retainer equipped at the same time, a character can get access to various ledges on the wall around the arena. From these vantage points, a character will have an easier time hitting Hadera'x weak spot and sniping it during the tunneling phase. It is recommended to have several incendiary weapons at hand, and at least one of which should have a high burn chance. Completion :Well, that was exhilarating! Good show! Turn In: Sir Hammerlock Solo A single character naturally has a lower chance of inflicting burning on Haderax. When Haderax starts tunneling and the character is on low ground, it will be hard for the character to quickly spot Haderax's position and attack in time before it enters a tunnel. A good approach here is to preemptively get to one of the higher ledges around the arena, by using a geyser or by having Toothpick and Retainer equipped. From one of these spots, the character should have an easier time sniping Haderax when it exits a tunnel. The ideal location here is the ledge by one of Haderax's tunneling holes, to the west side of the map and to the right of the lift (as the character is facing the arena entrance). If a character stays very close to this hole, both the corrosive orb and the spike barrage from Haderax will not be able to reach them. This ledge is an ideal location to switch to a Bee shield. From this ledge, the character will have a clear view of the critical spot on the back of Haderax's head after it emerges from the west geyser. If the character manages to stagger Haderax here, they should switch to the Toothpick and Retainer, then quickly jump down in order to hit the critical spot inside Haderax's mouth. This can end the fight if done right. If the character staggers Haderax when it is at the other two geysers, they can hit the critical spot inside its mouth without having to jump down. To singe Haderax more easily, it is recommended to increase the character's chance to cause burning as much as possible, by taking advantage of class mods, relics, and weapons such as Pitchfork, Lyuda, Pimpernel, or Invader. Aside from Toothpick, some other weapons that serve as good main weapons against Haderax are Plasma Casters, HellFire, Emperor, Sand Hawk, Interfacer, Lady Fist, and Heart Breaker. Depending on the character's build, it may be more advantageous for the character to stay on low ground and deal damage to Haderax when it is not attempting to regenerate, and only get to higher ground just before it starts doing so. Mission Transcript Notes *The mission is only available after Paradise Found has been completed. *The combination of the Toothpick, Retainer and Mouthwash increases movement speed, jump distance, and assault rifle damage, resulting in an ideal set of items suited for the encounter with Haderax. The Retainer will also spawn with a guaranteed immunity to corrosive damage and heals for a quarter of the melee damage. *Weapons with piercing, or splitting projectiles like the Conference Call allows the characters to shoot the weak spot on the back of Haderax's head from below, thereby providing an alternative attack strategy to the geyser launches. *Haderax's healing effect is canceled if it takes incendiary damage, making weapons with high elemental chances more effective. **This increases the Toothpick's effectiveness even further with its guaranteed incendiary element. However, Incendiary Shotguns that have large magazines and consumes only 1 round per shot (Such as the Thinking and Heart Breaker) is significantly more effective. * By climbing up ledges around the arena, a character can get to the top of the preparation room. This is another good location to snipe Haderax from, because its attacks will be blocked by the railing and metal beams. * The Necrotizing Spores that spawn during the fight can clip through the ground and rock structures, making it very difficult, if not impossible, for a character to get a Second Wind from killing them. Trivia * The names and flavor texts of Toothpick and Mouthwash may be hints alluding to the fact that the key to win the fight against Haderax is to stagger it then attack the critical spot on the roof of its mouth. Media A Most Cacophonous Lure|"Boosted Axton" Playthrough